Leather button with shank



June 30, 1970 M. WOLFELD LEATHER BUTTON WITH SHANK Filed March 19, 1968 BUTTON HOLDING MEANS sswme MEANS CHUTE MEANS Max Wolfe/d INVENTOR.

BY (um way 293% United States Patent 3,517,418 LEATHER BUTTON WITH SHANK Max Wolfeld, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., assignor to Hemisphere Novelties, Inc., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 714,192

Int. Cl. A44b 1/24; Db 3/16 US. Cl. 24--90 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A leather button including a rigid shank, one end of which is fastened within a recess of a button cap. The opposite end includes an aperture therein for facilitating the sewing thereof to a garment. The shank is contoured for acceptance in an automatic hopper fed sewing machine which feeds one button at a time to a holding device while the button is sewn to a garment.

The present invention relates to a button structure and more particularly to a leather button with a shank portion enabling said button to be automatically handled during a sewing process.

The garment industry utilizes a large number of leather covered buttons on a variety of garments. Heretofore, the prior art has included leather button constructions including shank portions fabricated in the form of wire loops pivotally secured within the cap of the button. Other forms of shank fabrication include a leather loop appending from a planar portion of a button. These prior shanks are not manufactured to uniform specifications and lack rigidity so that they may not be used with automatic hopper fed sewing machines prevalent in the trade. Thus, prior button constructions must be applied to a garment by hand sewing which is time consuming and costly.

The present invention is believed to be the first known leather button which may be used for automatic sewing with a hopper fed sewing machine. The instant button structure includes a shank portion fabricated from a rigid shaped material permitting the automatic handling of the button during a sewing process. This is possible due to the uniform nature in design and dimension of the shanks utilized in the button. The present shank button not only increases the productivity and decreases cost of button manufacture and attachment but also produces a better looking garment to which the button is sewn by virtue of their uniform appearance. The present shank portion also reduces the drooping effect of sewn buttons.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a leather covered button including a shank extending therefrom.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the button shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the button shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the shank portion of a button embodying the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane passing through section line 55 of the button shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view illustrating a button held in position during a sewing operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the means employed during an automatic button sewing operation.

3,517,418 Patented June 30, 1970 Referring specifically to the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally denotes a shanked button having a hemispherical cap 12 covered by cross strips of leather 14 in a conventional pattern. A rigid shank generally denoted by reference numeral 16 extends outwardly from the button cap 12 for attachment to the garment after the sewing thereof.

Attention is directed to FIG. 4 which illustrates the structural configuration of a stem 16 which permits the handling of buttons including such a stem in an automatic sewing process as explained hereinafter. The stem includes a circular disk portion 18 having circular planar surfaces 20 and 22. A straight stem portion 24 is integrally connected to the surface 22 and extends perpendicularly therefrom. The cross-section profile of the straight stem portion 24 includes parallel straight line edges 26 and 28 and perpendicularly intersecting straight line edges 30 and 32 respectively, the straight line edges substantially forming a rectangular form with the exception of inwardly contoured medial sections 34 along both edges 30 and 32. These medial sections form longitudinal grooves in shank 16. A circular aperture 36 is formed through the inwardly contoured grooves along an intermediate length of shank 16.

In actual button fabrication (not forming a part of the present invention), strips of leather are interfolded to form a hemispherical button cap 12 around the head 18 of shank 16, head 18 being received within a formed recess 38 within the interior of cap 12. The shank attaching underside surface 39 of the button cap is peripherally contoured inwardly to a circular planar portion 41. Thus, as FIG. 5 shows, the shank is securely anchored within the button cap by virtue of the retention of shank head 18 within the cap 12 as well as a straight portion of shank 18 immediately appending from the head surface 38.

Finally formed buttons are uniform in appearance and dimension. Further, the shank being rigidly anchored in the button cap 12 permits automatic handling of the shank button through a hopper fed sewing machine as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows a chute or hopper means 42 for directing shank buttons loaded therein to button holding means 40. The aforementioned means are of the type manufactured by the American Machine and Foundry Company, Switching Machinery Division, and are designated as Button Chute for Button Switching Machine Type 7 and Button Receiver for Button Switching Machine Type 7, respectively. In actual operation, buttons are manually loaded into chute means 42 and from there are automatically transferred to button holding means 40 which position a button to be sewn on a garment by a separate sewing means 44 (not part of the invention).

The button holding means diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 7 is more particularly shown in FIG. 6. As will be noted, the button is positioned so that the aperture 36 is disposed vertically thereby permitting a sewing needle (not shown) to vertically pass therethrough and pass through a garment underlying the holding means.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be restorted to.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A shank adapted for attachment in a button cap, said shank comprising a disk-shaped head having first and second sides, a straight stem portion appending perpendicularly from said first side, the cross-section of said stem characterized by first and second parallel 3 straight line edges, third and fourth parallel straight line edges respectively perpendicular to said first and second edges, said third and fourth edges including inwardly curved porttions medially therealong, and an-aperture formed through said curved portions.

2. The button structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the intersection of perpendicular edges of said crosssection are rounded.

3. A button construction comprising a cap having a recess therein, a shank having a disk-shaped head for retention within said recess, saidhead having first and second planar sides, a stem portion appending perpendicularly from said first side and extending outwardly from said cap, the cross-section of said stem characterized by first and second parallel straight line edges, third and fourth straight line edges respectively perpendicular to said first and second edges, said third and fourth edges including inwardly curved portions medially therealong, and an aperture formed through said curved portions.

, chute vmeans for automatically feedingone button at 4. The structure set forth in claim 3 wherein said cap References Cited .UNITED STATES PATENTS 392,377 11/1888 Thayer t 24 147,05312/1903 Ehrlich. 2,934,032 4/1960 Trolle ..;.;L 2490 X FOREIGN PATENTS 827,347 2/1960 GreatBritain.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 112-265 

